A growing number of Americans report having no formal religious affiliation, with the group known as the “nones” reaching a record share of the U.S. population in 2025, according to newly released Gallup data.
The findings come from more than 13,000 interviews conducted throughout Gallup’s monthly surveys during 2025. The results show that fewer than half of U.S. adults now describe religion as “very important” in their lives.
Specifically, 47% of respondents said religion is “very important” to them, while another 25% said it is “fairly important.”
Gallup noted that the proportion of Americans who say religion is “very important” has been trending downward for decades. The figure stood at 58% in 2012 and was much higher in earlier decades, reaching between 70% and 75% during the 1950s and 1960s.
At the same time, the share of Americans identifying as religiously unaffiliated has continued to grow. The percentage of “nones” climbed to 24% in 2025, up from about 21% to 22% over the previous four years. Gallup’s long-term data show that this group has expanded dramatically from just 2% of the population in 1948.
Beyond those who identify as religiously unaffiliated, another 28% of Americans said religion is “not very important” in their lives — a level that has remained largely unchanged since 2022.
“Americans’ relationship with religion continues to evolve, marked by fewer adults describing religion as central to their lives, rising religious nonaffiliation and persistently low levels of religious service attendance,” Megan Brenan, a senior editor at Gallup, concluded.
The survey also highlighted differences among demographic groups. Between 2001 and 2005, majorities within every demographic category in the U.S. said religion was very important in their lives. Today, however, only six groups still report levels well above 50%.
According to Gallup, those groups include Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Republicans, Protestant or nondenominational Christians, Black adults, Americans aged 65 and older and residents of the Southern United States. Majorities of lower-income individuals, women and adults aged 50 to 64 also continue to say religion plays a very important role in their lives.
“While religion remains deeply important to major segments of the population (Republicans, Protestants, Black adults, older Americans, and Southerners in particular), the long-term trajectory shows a steady decline driven largely by generational replacement,” Brennan said. “Younger adults are both less likely to identify with a religion and less likely to attend services, reshaping the nation’s religious landscape as they constitute a growing share of the population.”
Research published last year in the peer-reviewed journal Socius offers another explanation for the trend. In the study “Breaking Free of the Iron Cage: The Individualization of American Religion,” scholars suggested that increasing numbers of Americans are moving away from organized religion while adopting more individualized spiritual perspectives that blend elements from multiple traditions.
